There have been recent rumors that Toys 'R' Us might sell its toy stores. Of course, one has to wonder what would be left if they did that, but that's not what concerns me today.
TRU, like every other store in the XMAS celebrating world, was having a big sale Friday and Saturday. One featured toy was the Lego Alpha Team Mobile Command Center for $24.95. This is half off! Since this toy is on the "I really, really, really, really, REALLY want this for Christmas" list of both of my children I decided to brave the holiday traffic and try to get it.
So I'm at the store and there are none on the shelf. Just an empty space. It was Saturday, so maybe they sold out on Friday. But having been in this situation before I looked up. Not to pray, but to see if there were any on the top of the shelves — and there were! So I called for a ladder and waited. And waited. And waited. When the highly motivated temporary worker finally showed up he got down... one.
I explained that this toy was featured in the current circular at half price and that the empty space on the shelf indicated that it was popular and that it might be a good idea to get down a few more so that people could buy them without him having to get a ladder each time. "Well, this isn't my department."
Sigh. And I'm sure he really believes that the reason he can't find a better paying job is because, a) illegal immigrants are taking them all, or b) they're all being shipped to India. Sigh.
Monday, November 29, 2004
Thursday, November 25, 2004
Thanksgiving Supper
Today my in-laws are providing Thanksgiving Dinner. Or is it lunch? We will be eating at noon. Gene Bob wants to know about the whole supper vs dinner thingee, which surprises me because he's from Mifipi and I thought they taught this in Sunday School.
Anyway, for those needing a remedial education, here's the deal: if you live in a rural community or in the South (including Mifipi), then the noon-day meal is called "dinner" and the evening meal is called "supper". Most others call them "lunch" and "dinner". Why? Because they do.
Oh, you want to get into the entomological roots of the words? You may regret it later. Some authorities think that "dinner" as a mid-day meal entered Middle English lexicon as a nounification of the French word "diner" (but with a feminine little hat over the 'i'), which meant to dine. The French verb, in turn, has latin roots which basically mean to un-fast. In other words, to eat the first (big) meal of the day. Interestingly enough, the early French dined in the morning and it was typically their biggest meal of the day. Even more interestingly, the modern English word "breakfast" has the same meaning.
Even more fascinating is that the word "supper" also appeared in Middle English to describe the evening meal and also has French roots from a verb which means "to eat the evening meal".
Over time, the term dinner has migrated to the evening meal among the urban crowd, possibly because the biggest meal of the day migrated to the evening. Similarly, among the snooty crowd, supper appears to have migrated to be a very late, light, meal, such as after going to the theater. In rural areas, however, where the noon meal was still a large meal, dinner stayed at noon and supper, which started out as a small evening meal, stayed supper but got larger.
So to the early French dinner was breakfast and supper was dinner, or supper. Got it? Thus endeth the lesson.
Anyway, for those needing a remedial education, here's the deal: if you live in a rural community or in the South (including Mifipi), then the noon-day meal is called "dinner" and the evening meal is called "supper". Most others call them "lunch" and "dinner". Why? Because they do.
Oh, you want to get into the entomological roots of the words? You may regret it later. Some authorities think that "dinner" as a mid-day meal entered Middle English lexicon as a nounification of the French word "diner" (but with a feminine little hat over the 'i'), which meant to dine. The French verb, in turn, has latin roots which basically mean to un-fast. In other words, to eat the first (big) meal of the day. Interestingly enough, the early French dined in the morning and it was typically their biggest meal of the day. Even more interestingly, the modern English word "breakfast" has the same meaning.
Even more fascinating is that the word "supper" also appeared in Middle English to describe the evening meal and also has French roots from a verb which means "to eat the evening meal".
Over time, the term dinner has migrated to the evening meal among the urban crowd, possibly because the biggest meal of the day migrated to the evening. Similarly, among the snooty crowd, supper appears to have migrated to be a very late, light, meal, such as after going to the theater. In rural areas, however, where the noon meal was still a large meal, dinner stayed at noon and supper, which started out as a small evening meal, stayed supper but got larger.
So to the early French dinner was breakfast and supper was dinner, or supper. Got it? Thus endeth the lesson.
Monday, November 08, 2004
Short People Got...
...lots of issues with cars. And while it's true that several new car features can help there is still one area that I need help with.
But first, it's not for me, it's for a friend. ;-) Actually, to be totally honest, it's for my 7-year old son. No, he's not driving. But his problem is similar to one faced by very short drivers: the seat cushion is too long for him. This means that he will end up slouching so that his knees are past the edge of the cushion, and that means that he is in danger of "submarining" under the seatbelt in an accident. That can cause all sorts of internal injuries if the belt catches under the ribs and, in extreme cases, can cause neck injuries.
So I'm thinking that there must be some sort of place that caters to short drivers and has what amounts to a full height seat-back pad that makes it easier for a short driver to sit forward in the seat. But where?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)